Eric Jacobson

MAY 21, 2013

'If you''ve flown Southwest Airlines you know they''re tops in airline customer service, driven by a leadership style that creates a company-wide culture where all employees own that culture. According to SWA Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly, as reported in the company''s in-flight magazine, "every company has a culture, whether that culture is supportive or stifling, active or passive, fun or discouraging.

Airlines 97

Airlines Committee Leadership Styles Magazine 97

Eric Jacobson

JANUARY 23, 2013

Here's a good definition of the difference between a mission and a vision by leadership book authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Check and Jorge Pedraza: Mission - A mission guides what people do every day. It informs what roles need to exist in the organization. Vision - A vision is the picture of future success. It helps define areas where the organization needs to be best in class and helps keep everyone aware of the essence of the company.

Class 97

Class Definition Information Books 97

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

You can't lead if your employees, team or followers don't trust you. Building trust takes energy, effort and constant attention to how you act. To help build trust, follow these 16 tips , recommended by author Susan H. Shearouse: Be honest Keep commitments and keep your word Avoid surprises Be consistent with your mood Be your best Demonstrate respect Listen Communicate Speak with a positive intent Admit mistakes Be willing to hear feedback Maintain confidences Get to know others Practice empath

How To 97

How To Energy Tips Commitment 97

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Mistakes happen. The best thing you can do as a leader is to help your employee learn from his (or her) mistake. If your employee is afraid of ever making a mistake, he will be paralyzed from taking action or taking even calculated risks. If he knows that mistakes happen in the course of doing business and that one learns from making mistakes, you will have a more productive employee.

Policies 97

Policies Course Productivity Products 97

Eric Jacobson

OCTOBER 16, 2013

'In your leadership role, it''s vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor Ann Thomas and Jill Applegate would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You". Thomas and Applegate recommend telling your customers "Thank You" during at least these nine situations : When they do business with you.every time.

Power 96

Power Books Team Productivity 96

Eric Jacobson

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

'Be decisive A manager who can''t make a decision or who can''t make a timely decision will frustrate his/her employees. Equally bad, a lack of decision will impede the progress of the manager''s team. Some managers make endless requests for data as a way to postpone their having to make a decision. Employees end up spinning in circles, slicing and dicing the information far beyond what is truly needed for the manager to make a decision.

Tips 96

Tips Skills Follow-up Management 96

Eric Jacobson

MARCH 28, 2013

As a leader, the time will come when you will have to speak with an employee about his or her poor performance. Here are six steps that will guide you through that process: Tell him what performance is in need of change and be specific. Tell him how his actions negatively affect the team. Let the discussion sink in. Set expectations of performance improvement and timeframe, and get his agreement on the desired outcome.

Process 96

Process Team Management Leadership 96

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Many a time during my career I've been in situations where someone asks, "What is the difference between a vision and a mission?" Or, "How is an objective different from a goal?" And, lots of times, confusion comes when separating strategies from tactics. If you've encountered the same situations, use this helpful list of strategic frame of reference elements and definitions in mind: Vision = What we will be Mission = Why we exist Goals = What will get us there Objectives = Major steps we will t

Definition 96

Definition Tactics Objective Reference 96

Eric Jacobson

JANUARY 22, 2013

Eric Harvey and Al Lucia wrote a booklet called, 144 Ways To Walk The Talk. They provide the following great advice about giving feedback: 1. Make it timely -- give your feedback as soon as possible to the performance. 2. Make it individualized -- tailor your feedback to the feedback receiver. 3. Make it productive -- focus your feedback on the performance and not the performer. 4.

Construction 96

Construction Advice Productivity Products 96

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

Here are 10 important questions business leaders should ask, according to Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge, authors of Helping People Win At Work : Does my business have a clear, meaningful, and easily understood vision/mission? Do I have the right people in the right seats on the bus? Do I have a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal), and have I communicated it to my employees?

BHAG 96

BHAG Blanchard Goal Information 96

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

There is an important difference between giving your employees positive feedback and giving them praise. Positive feedback focuses on the specifics of job performance. Praise, often one-or two-sentence statements, such as “Keep up the good work,” without positive feedback leaves employees with empty feelings. Worse yet, without positive feedback, employees feel no sense that they are appreciated as individual talents with specific desires to learn and grow on the job and in their careers, report

Positioning 96

Positioning Mentor Report Career 96

Eric Jacobson

MARCH 24, 2013

These quotes truly inspire me : “The three common characteristics of best companies -- they care, they have fun, they have high performance expectations.” -- Brad Hams “The one thing that's common to all successful people: They make a habit of doing things that unsuccessful people don't like to do.” -- Michael Phelps “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." -- Harry S.

Leadership 95

Leadership Covey Drucker Brand 95

Eric Jacobson

JULY 2, 2013

'A good manager is both a coach and a counselor. Generally, coaching should precede counseling. As a coach , a manager: identifies an employee''s need for instruction and direction and this need is usually directly related to his or her performance or career goals. Coaching is collaborative. It relies on mutual, progressive goal-setting, personal feedback, and an ongoing, supportive relationship.

Armstrong 95

Armstrong Handbook Construction Goal 95

Eric Jacobson

OCTOBER 12, 2013

'Some of my favorite quotes for leaders are: A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit -- Arnold H. Glasgow I praise loudly, I blame softly -- Catherine II of Russia Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress -- Mohandas Gandhi A long dispute means that both parties are wrong -- Voltaire The least questioned assumptions are often the most questionable -- Paul Broca These and many more compelling quotes can be found in Susa

Leadership 95

Leadership Books Management 95

Eric Jacobson

OCTOBER 25, 2013

'I was recently asked, " What five most important traits must a leader have to be effective ?" I could reply fairly quickly, but I did take a moment to remember that when I asked a similar question in a LinkedIn group discussion, group members offered up nearly 100 different adjectives to describe an effective leader. But, for me, I contend the five most important traits are : Good communicator.

Servant Leader 94

Servant Leader Leadership Motivation Follow-up 94

Eric Jacobson

OCTOBER 31, 2013

'" A goal without a plan is just a wish ," is something Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said a long time ago. But, goals and plans were top of mind this past weekend. When the year started, I set a goal of running in 30 5K races during 2013. Because of good weather on most weekends, minimal injury setbacks, and a lot of races to select from in the Kansas City area each weekend, I reached my goal last Saturday, and now with two months left in the year will surpass my goal.

Goal 94

Goal Planning Training Tips 94

Eric Jacobson

JULY 12, 2013

'I was recently asked, " What five most important traits must a leader have to be effective ?" I could reply fairly quickly, but I did take a moment to remember that when I asked a similar question in a LinkedIn group discussion, group members offered up nearly 100 different adjectives to describe an effective leader. But, for me, I contend the five most important traits are : Good communicator.

Servant Leader 94

Servant Leader Motivation Follow-up Industry 94

Eric Jacobson

MAY 15, 2013

'Here are 10 important questions business leaders should ask, according to Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge, authors of Helping People Win At Work : Does my business have a clear, meaningful, and easily understood vision/mission? Do I have the right people in the right seats on the bus? Do I have a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal), and have I communicated it to my employees?

BHAG 93

BHAG Blanchard Skills Goal 93

Eric Jacobson

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

'Fortunately, most of my career I’ve worked in effective corporate cultures. If I put together the best of each, here is what made those environments effective: • Leaders led by example on a consistent basis and were willing to roll up their sleeves, particularly during tight deadlines or challenging times. • Employees clearly understood how what they did made a difference and how their contributions made the organization either more profitable or more effective. • The workforce included a blend

Committee 93

Committee Long-term Education Influence 93

Eric Jacobson

DECEMBER 3, 2013

'In John Baldoni''s new book , The Leader''s Guide to Speaking with Presence , he provides these tips for listening as a leader and learning as a leader: When Listening As A Leader : Look at people when they are speaking to you. Make eye contact. Ask open-ended questions, such as "Tell me about." or "Could you explain this?" Consider the "what if" question: "What if we looked at the situation like this?

Automotive 93

Automotive Open-book How To Banking 93

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

You practice SPARK leadership if you: S hare Information P lay to Strengths A sk for Input and Appreciate Different Ideas R ecognize and Respond to Individual Needs K eep Your Commitments A great reminder from the President and CEO of American Management Association, Edward T. Reilly. You'll find more good advice in his new book, AMA Business Boot Camp.

Leadership 93

Leadership Advice Commitment CEO 93

Eric Jacobson

APRIL 6, 2013

'In your leadership role, it''s vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor Ann Thomas and Jill Applegate would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You". Thomas and Applegate recommend telling your customers "Thank You" during at least these nine situations : When they do business with you.every time.

Skills 93

Skills Power Books Team 93

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Some of my favorite quotes for leaders are: A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit -- Arnold H. Glasgow I praise loudly, I blame softly -- Catherine II of Russia Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress -- Mohandas Gandhi A long dispute means that both parties are wrong -- Voltaire The least questioned assumptions are often the most questionable -- Paul Broca These and many more compelling quotes can be found in Susan

Leadership 93

Leadership Books Management 93

Eric Jacobson

JUNE 8, 2013

'There are so many good things to learn in the book, Helping People Win At Work , by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge. Among those is the section about how to define meaningful work. Their definition consists of these seven attributes. Work is meaningful when it : It is conducted in a manner that is "good and proper" in all respects. It positively affects our company and our communities, giving our work an impact that extends beyond ourselves.

Blanchard 93

Blanchard Definition Creativity Skills 93

Eric Jacobson

OCTOBER 19, 2013

'I really like author Paul R. Timm''s advice to stop asking your customers the "typical" questions and instead ask them open-ended questions. Here''s what Timm recommends: Don''t Ask : How was everything? Can I get you something else? Did you find everything you need? Will that be all? Was everything satisfactory? Instead Ask : What else can I do for you?

Advice 92

Advice Power Management Leadership 92

Eric Jacobson

DECEMBER 14, 2013

'“Purpose is the why behind everything within an organization,” says author John Baldoni, of the book, Lead With Purpose. Baldoni also believes that it is up to leaders to make certain that organizational purpose is understood and acted upon. And, to harness the talents of their employees, leaders must recognize their responsibility to instill purpose in the workplace.

Survey 92

Survey Education Follow-up Review 92

Eric Jacobson

NOVEMBER 26, 2013

'During this season of giving thanks, I thought I''d bring back one of the most popular posts from my Blog. Here it is from 2012: In your leadership role, it''s vital that your team members know how to deliver excellent customer service. " Knock Your Socks Off " type service as book editor Ann Thomas and Jill Applegate would say. Part of delivering excellent customer service is saying "Thank You" to your customers and knowing when to say "Thank You".

Blog 92

Blog Power Team Books 92

Eric Jacobson

NOVEMBER 24, 2013

'A former co-worker shared a great blog post with me this past week about the most common complaints about the annoying things bosses do without even realizing it. Here are the highlights : 1. Making social events unofficially required. 2. Pressuring employees to donate to charity. 3. Calling employees who are on vacation. 4. Holding endless meetings. 5.

Delegation 92

Delegation Blog Skills Management 92

Eric Jacobson

DECEMBER 20, 2013

'Author and leadership expert Jim Collins defines Level 5 leaders as those who: Pursue goals with the ferocity of lions while displaying the humility of lambs. According to Collins, who has studied leadership for 25 years, this level of leader is a rare breed. This is a leader who: bestows credit generously shoulders blame responsibility puts organization before self.

Collins 92

Collins Goal Leadership Organization 92

Eric Jacobson

MAY 17, 2013

'Some of my favorite quotes for leaders are: A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit -- Arnold H. Glasgow I praise loudly, I blame softly -- Catherine II of Russia Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress -- Mohandas Gandhi A long dispute means that both parties are wrong -- Voltaire The least questioned assumptions are often the most questionable -- Paul Broca These and many more compelling quotes can be found in Susa

Leadership 92

Leadership Books Management 92

Eric Jacobson

DECEMBER 1, 2013

'Leading a customer service team? Have the team members use these 9 tips for delivering excellent customer service this holiday shopping season: Rely on winning words and soothing phrases. A simple but sincere “Thanks for your patience” or “I’m listening” can go a long way toward defusing a holiday shopper’s frustration, anxiety, or panic. Develop a repertoire of short, easy to remember phrases around issues that are important to customers.

Customer Loyalty 92

Customer Loyalty Loyalty Tips Stress 92

Eric Jacobson

OCTOBER 2, 2013

'I''m a big fan of the magazine, Experience Life. Particularly the monthly Perspective column by Bahram Akradi , the founder and CEO of Life Time Fitness. Akradi tackles self-reflection in this month''s issue. He firmly believes the business model that if you aren''t innovating you are dying. And, to innovate, you have to regularly fine-tune both your business and your life.

Magazine 92

Magazine Business Model Trends Advice 92

Eric Jacobson

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

'Here are some of my favorite leadership and life tips and advice from William Arthur Ward , one of America''s most quoted writers of inspirational maxims: Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work.

How To 92

How To Participative Advice Tips 92

Eric Jacobson

JUNE 7, 2013

'Here''s a good definition of the difference between a mission and a vision by leadership book authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Check and Jorge Pedraza: Mission - A mission guides what people do every day. It informs what roles need to exist in the organization. Vision - A vision is the picture of future success. It helps define areas where the organization needs to be best in class and helps keep everyone aware of the essence of the company.

Mission Statement 92

Mission Statement Class Definition Information 92

Eric Jacobson

NOVEMBER 23, 2013

'If found particularly compelling the following about trust from Andrew Leigh''s new book, Ethical Leadership. He writes: To be trusted, leaders must show : ability - competence at doing their job empathy - a concern for others beyond their own needs and having benign motives integrity - adhering to a set of principles acceptable to others, reflecting fairness and honesty predictability - over time, acting with consistency.

Ethics 91

Ethics How To Motivation Books 91

Eric Jacobson

AUGUST 17, 2013

'Open Leadership author Charlene Li reminds leaders to periodically ask themselves these " open leadership skills assessment " questions: Do I seek out and listen to different points of view? Do I make myself available to people at all levels of the organization? Do I actively manage how I am authentic? Do I encourage people to share information? Do I publicly admit when I am wrong?

Open-book 91

Open-book Skills Books Information 91

Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

Here are some of my favorite pieces of advice from Ken Blanchard's and Garry Ridge's book, Helping People Win at Work : All good performance starts with clear goals. Continually planning and executing without the value of review and learning can blindside you. You don't want to save up feedback until somebody fails. It's amazing how much more you learn when you admit you don't know.

Blanchard 91

Blanchard Advice Influence Review 91